Uganda: National policy for disaster preparedness and management

The people of Uganda, through the Constituent Assembly in Objective 23 and Article 249 of the resulting Constitution, called for an end to intolerable and persistent loss of life, suffering and disruption of economic activities by disasters resulting from the lack of preparedness and patchy uncoordinated responses. Relief, disaster risk reduction and management in Uganda therefore need to be tackled in a holistic way that requires simultaneous action on different fronts.

Under its mandate, the Directorate of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Office of the Prime Minister, initiated a comprehensive process to develop a policy that details mechanisms and structures for the effective and practical management of disasters. The policy covers the broad subjects of vulnerability assessment, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, which constitute “comprehensive disaster management”. It networks all the lead sectors, local governments, international development and humanitarian partners, the private sector and the NGOs under the principle of a multi‐disciplinary and multi‐skilled consultative approach. It also presents an institutional framework under which the partners coordinate their operations. It further recognizes the need to place emphasis on the vulnerable groups and persons with special needs.